Singer/songwriter George Ducas was born in Texas City, Texas in 1971 and moved to San Diego, California at an early age when his parents divorced. Bitten by the music bug at age 10, he begged his mother for a guitar and got that guitar for Christmas that same year. Soon, George taught himself to play and began performing whenever and wherever he could find an audience.
At age 12, Ducas went to live with his father and stepmother in Houston, Texas at which time he became engrossed in writing and performing. That year he wrote his first song that would later be published, entitled "Women and Whiskey". At that young age, Ducas gained what little understanding he had of the song's topics by listening to the Willie Nelson songs he loved. "My stepmother, Marie, was instrumental in forming my musical influences. She introduced me to Willie's "Red Headed Stranger" album and it became my best friend," recalls George.
While in high school and college, Ducas performed in make-shift bands and found himself writing songs for his girlfriends. He graduated thinking he should follow in his father's footsteps by taking a conventional job, with a conventional salary and conventional hours. But Ducas' life would not be conventional for long.
Shortly after beginning his first job at a bank in Atlanta, Ducas began moonlighting as a performer in local bars at night. Aftr one year in a "day-job", Ducas took his leap of faith, packed up his life in a Ryder truck and moved to Nashville to pursue his dream.
Ducas quickly received his first songwriting break after meeting singer/songwriter Radney Foster. Foster gave the youngster valuable insight, allowing George to learn the ropes of the music business and hone his songwriting skills. The two quickly teamed up to write "Just Call Me Lonesome", which would become George's first recorded song as well as Foster's first Top 10 hit as a solo artist. "Radney and I are both lifelong members of the Buck Owens admiration society, and we tapped into Buck's influence when we wrote "Lonesome" for Radney's record. "It was a special time," remembers George.
Ducas soon signed a record deal of his own with Capitol Records and released his self-titled debut in 1995 amidst high critical acclaim and great expectations. After charting a Top 20 hit with the first single, "Teardrops", Ducas arrived as both a national and international country artist with the Top 5 hit, "Lipstick Promises". Ducas toured extensively, headlining and opening shows for many country artists including Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Diamond Rio, and Faith Hill.
In 1998, Ducas wrote and recorded his second release, "Where I Stand." Unfortunately, the album lacked the same momentum push as the first. Capitol Records had undergone a number of changes in its leadership, and there were several shifts in the release date of the album as the label transitioned its priorities. Ducas' first single, "Everytime She Passes By", was pulled from radio shortly after its release and then re-released several months later, after which it fell of the charts. "I can now look back and see that the wheels were rolling off," George recalls. "It was a tough, uphill struggle at the time, but I know now that it was the best thing to have happened. I've had so many fantastic experiences since then." Ducas parted with the label shortly thereafter.
After the initial shock of losing his record deal and seeing his performing life stall, Ducas stepped out of the public eye to "re-group." "I really didn't have a choice in the matter. For a while I tried to play the blame game. Eventually though, you have to realize that it's a tough business and very few of us keep our place in the limelight. But if you're hard-working and lucky, you get to jump in and out of it a few times", laughs George.
Ducas has spent the last several years writing and creating a family. He is married to his college sweetheart, Caroline, and now has two beautiful children, Grace (5) and William (3). While concentrating on writing, George has written hits for the likes of the Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, George Jones, Sara Evans, Tricia Yearwood, Gary Allan, and the Randy Rogers Band, among others. Re-energized with his recent songwriting successes and new music of his own, George is making plans to release a new album in the spring of 2007.
Source: http://www.georgeducas.com/